Fork



. ma' 2; v lsten .lie it known that l, Lodis TW. Busen, a citizen oll the United States, residing at 'l`oledo, in the county ot liucas and `State Aoil Ohio. haie iiiv'eiited certain new and useful l'inprovements in Forks, ot which the tollowing is a. specification.

'lliis invention relates to improvements in 'forks and more particularly to :lorls olf' that type which are designed for use in removing pickles, olives, and the like troni bottles, jars or other containers. lt is a well recognized tact that the ordinary fork can not be success tully employed Vtor this purpose. or at least with any degree ol satis l'action, because lood stujl'ls such as olives and pickles are`usually relatively closely packed in their containers and cannot be readily dislodged by vertically inserting the lines ot the ordinary iliorl; and lifting upv-:ardly upon the fork, and even where the articles are finally loosened, it is a dillicult matter to elevate them from the container as the least contact with the walls or mouth ot the container is liable to dislodge them :troni the :torlc Therelore it is the primary object the present invention to provide a lorl of simple construction and capable ot being readily and conveniently manipulated an d which may be employed with sat istaction in removing articles such as those above referred to 'lron'i their containers even when relatively closely pac-lied or where the mouth of 'the container is somewhat restricted.

Another object ol the invention is to so construct the 'fork that it may be conveniently manipulated with one hand and caused to securely grip lthe article to be elevated from its container regardless ot the size oli the article, within reasonable limits.

rlhe present application constitutes a division oit my co-pending application, liled Alpril il, l92l, Serial No. 458,2l2.

In the accompanying drawing:

lligure l is a side elevation illustrating one 'torni ot the fork embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a similar view illustrating a mode ille-d form or' tori;

Lig. 53 is a vertical transverse sectional view on tl e line 3-*3 or' Fig. 1.

The :torlr shown in Figure fl, ot the drawings coniprises a handle member indicated in general by the numeral l. and provided at its rear end with a hand grip 2 and at its lllliltdltt Divided and this application ied June 2.1, 69,990.

forward end with an integral prong 3 which is curved in the manner illustrated 'in the said ligure. Immediately in advance of the hand grip 2, the handle member l is provided with a pair of upstanding pivot ears i prelferably integral with its opposite longitudinal edges, and a pivot pin 5 is passed through these ears and through similar ears ti provided at the opposite longitudinal edges oit the shanlr T ol a member 8 which is provided at its lorward end with a prong 9 corresponding` substantially in shape to the prong 3 and having its terminal opposing the terminal of the said prong 3. The member 3 is provided rearwardly of its pivot 5 with a thumb piece 10, and a leaf spring 1l is secured at its forward end, as at l2, to the upper side orn the handle member l between the pivot ears d and is curved upwardly and rearwardly and bears upwardly against the underside ot the thumb piece l0. rlhis spring ll yieldably holds the member S swung upon its pivot so that its prong 9 will coact with the prong 3 ot the member l, and when it is desired to grip an article for theV purpose of lifting the same, the thumb piece l0 may be depressed in the di rection of the hand grip 2 thus spreading apart the prongs 9 and 3 and then when the thumb piece is relieved of pressure the spring l1 will act to return the member 8 in the direction of the member l and thus bring 'the prongs 9 and 3 into gripping engagement with the article.

rlfhe l'orlr shown in Fig. 2 oit the drawings is substantially of the saine construction as the one shown in Fig. l and corresponding parts are indicated by like reference numerals. However, the` forl in this modified torni. is devoid ot a thumb piece at the rear end oit the member 8 but instead has this end turned downwardly and rearwardly, as at i3, so as to provide a stop for engagement against the upper side ot the hand grip 2. Also .in this torni ot the invention a leat` spring lll is secured at its rear end to the upper side of the shank oit the member jl and is curved upwardly and forwardly from the saine and bears upwardly against the underside ogt the member 7 in advance of the pivot 5, thus normally holding the prong end ot the said member 7 spread away from the corresponding end ot the member l. The prongs and 9 are therefore normally held separated a. distance which is determined by the engagement of the stop member 13 agains't the 'upper lside of the grip 2, and when it is desired to grip `an article for the purpose of lifting the same, the thumb is brought to bear against the upper side of the shank of the member 7 at a point in advance oi' the pivot 5 thus swinging the prong'` end of the member in the direction of the prongof the member l against the tension of the spring 14.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. In a device of the class described, a

' handle member having a hand grip at one end and a prong at its other end, a member pivotally mounted for swinging movement upon the handle member and provided with a prong for coaction with the first-mentioned prong and located at one side of its pivot and provided with a iingerpiece located at the other side of its pivot and in juxtaposition to the hand grip, and means yieldably holding the member swung to position to effect coaction of the prongs.

2. In a device oiC the class described, a handle member having a hand grip at one end and provided atits other end with a prong, a member pivotally mounted upon the handle and having a prong' for coaction with the first-mentioned prong, the pivot for the said member being located in juxtaposition to the hand grip whereby the thumb of a hand grasping the grip may be employed in engaging the member to swing the same upon its pivot, resilient means yieldably holding the member swung away from the handle member to relatively space the prongs, and means limiting such movement of the Said member.

In testimony whereof I aHiX my signature.

Louis w. BUSCH. 1jr. 5.] 

